Selfish Love
by xotakux2002x
Summary: kisame cannot stand the thought of losing itachi by order of pein. the shark decides to take matters into hsi own hands, even if it requires drastic measures. kisaita fluff.
1. Chapter 1

There was no moon to light the path, but Kisame kept running at top speed. He couldn't afford to slow down; they didn't know he was gone yet, but they would by morning. He had to make the most of this time. The Akatsuki wouldn't like what he had done; not at all.

But, his thoughts couldn't stay on the subject of that organization for long. They drifted back to Itachi. They always went back to Itachi. He couldn't help it, and he didn't even try to.

After all, he was in love with his partner.

It was an odd relationship. They'd started out hating each other, but over the years had grown to be friends. Then that friendship had deepened into true love. Kisame had never been happier. Everything seemed so perfect.

But then, Itachi's eyes began to fail him.

It started small; he'd need brighter light to see, or larger print to read. Then he had trouble picking out distinct shapes, and colors. Finally, he was limited to what was three feet or less from his face, and even then he could only make out fuzzy blobs.

Kisame gritted his teeth at the thought. The worst part was, it was partially his fault Itachi was like this. How many times had the Uchiha overused his eyes in an effort to protect the shark? Far too many, and now it was costing him. How Kisame wished he could go back in time and undo all that damage….but, you can't have the impossible.

Still, the shark hadn't been too worried; this just meant that Itachi would have to rely on him more, and that was something he didn't mind at all. In fact, he kind of liked it. And so, things still hadn't seemed so bad.

That delusion had been shattered earlier that evening. Slowly, he recalled the events that had led up to his escape…

Kisame had been walking down the hall, heading toward the room he shared with Itachi. As he walked along, he passed Pein's office. The door was slightly ajar, but he didn't take any notice at first. That is, until he heard Konan speak.

"You can't do that to Itachi!" she sounded panicky.

"_Hmm?"_ Kisame stopped outside the door, eavesdropping.

"Konan, there's no other way." Pein sounded annoyed, so either they'd already had this talk, or it was dragging on longer than the leader wanted it to.

"But he's still a kid, Pein!" Kisame's eyes widened. Now it sounded like Konan was begging. What the hell was going on?

"He's grown up, Konan. Itachi is not the child he was when I brought him here all those years ago. He's grown up, and his eyes are shot. We have no other choice."

"But, Pein, do we….must we kill him?"

Kisame's heart skipped a beat. _No, he hadn't heard that, he HAD NOT heard that!_

"Konan, we can't let him just stay here like a freeloader, and there's a chance he could accidentally reveal our location to someone else if we let him leave. There is no other choice. Itachi. Must. DIE." Kisame ran towards his room, horrified.

Itachi looked up at the sound of the door opening and shut. "Kisame?" An automatic response, since he couldn't see. Kisame kept silent and rushed over to his partner, embracing the Uchiha tightly. "Kisame, what is it?" Itachi asked in his trademark monotone.

Kisame broke away and told Itachi everything he'd just heard. Itachi was calm and collected the whole time. "I thought this would happen," he stated at the end.

Kisame's eyes widened. "What the hell are you saying, Itachi?!"

Itachi smiled bitterly. "Come on, Kisame, I'm dead weight. I knew they'd do something like this as soon as my vision got too bad. You should have expected this as well," he added.

Kisame was getting angry. "So you're just gonna accept this?! Just let them come up to you and say, 'sorry, we can't keep you anymore' and let them kill you like an old dog?!"

"Yes."

Kisame didn't have a response for that, and the room fell silent. After a while, Itachi opened his mouth, preparing to speak. "Kisame…"

"Yes?"

"When they kill me….I want you as far away from here as possible."

Kisame jumped and stared. "What?!"

"And I want you to give my body to Zetsu. Don't come back here until you're sure I'm dead and gone."

Kisame was getting angry again. "Why the hell should I do that?!"

"Consider it a last request." A small smile came to Itachi's face. "I don't want you to remember me as dead. So, if I'm dead and gone before you return, you'll only be able to remember me as being alive, right?"

Kisame's anger had faded away. "Itachi…"

"You know what I saw this morning when I woke up?" he held one of his hands in front of his face. "Black. I saw nothing but black." He smiled in Kisame's direction. "I'm completely blind, Kisame."

The shark's eyes widened. _No…_

"I'm grateful for death," Itachi continued. His body was shaking, and the next sentence came out a shaky whisper. "Because I can't see you anymore."

He got up and walked in Kisame's direction. Kisame caught one of his arms and the Uchiha felt his way up Kisame's body, until he was hugging him. Itachi was shaking. "You can't imagine how painful it is to not be able to see the one you love." Tears were streaming down his face, and the shark brushed them away with his fingertips.

Neither one of them were willing to break the embrace for a moment, but Itachi finally pulled away and walked back to the bed. He didn't need to see it; his feet had memorized where everything in the room was. "Kisame, can you please get me some water?"

"Sure, Itachi." Kisame walked out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. Inside him, rage was boiling over. _Damn Itachi's eyes for giving out, damn Konan and Pein for wanting to kill his partner, and damn HIM for being unable to do anything about it. _He sighed and walked to the kitchen, getting a glass of water. There must be _something_ he could do. As he walked past the bathroom, an idea hit him.

He ran inside and began rummaging through the medicine cabinet. He knew Sasori sometimes left his concoctions in here, so he had to be…THERE! He pulled out an unlabeled bottle with capsules inside. He quickly pulled out two; the dosage was one pill, but he had to make sure it worked. There was no way he was going to leave Itachi to a painful death. He quickly opened the pills and dumped the powder into the water, swirling it around so it dissolved. Once he was done, he quickly replaced the bottle and walked out of the bathroom, grateful no one had seen him.

When he got to the room, he quickly handed the spiked water to Itachi. The Uchiha sipped it and winced. "This tastes funny."

"I got the water from the bathroom instead of the kitchen." Kisame lied. Itachi accepted this explanation and drank it all. Kisame took the cup from his hands and set it on the bedside table. It wouldn't be long now.

"Kisame…" the shark looked over at his partner. Itachi's body was swaying slightly. "What did you…"

"It's going to be alright, Itachi," Kisame whispered, stroking his partner's head. The Uchiha shut his blind eyes and collapsed limply onto the bed. Kisame sighed and got up. There was no turning back now.

And now he ran through the night, Samehada strapped to his back, and Itachi in his arms. His partner wouldn't wake up for a few more hours; those sleeping pills were strong. He wondered what Itachi would do when they woke up, but he didn't care. As long as his partner was alive, h really didn't care about anything else.

As he looked ahead, he saw the sun start to rise. They need to go east a little further, than head north. Kisame had heard several rumors about powerful healers up there, but until recently he hadn't had a reason to investigate.

"_But, even if they can't help you,"_ he thought, smiling softly at his partner, _"I won't leave you. I'll always be with you, Itachi. And if you still want to die, I'll let you and die with you." _

Some people would call this selfish love. Kisame didn't care. Love is love, after all. The sun was rising higher, and Kisame sped up, turning to the north.


	2. end

The first thing Itachi realized when he woke up was that he definitely was not in his bed. In fact, he felt like he was _moving_. Or rather, being carried by a very familiar pair of arms. "Kisame…"

The shark looked down at the sound of Itachi's voice. The pills must have worn off. He stopped and ducked into the woods, knowing that there was no way he could let down his guard. Quite frankly, he was amazed that they hadn't been attacked by the other Akatsuki members by now. "Kisame." Oh right, his partner.

The shark looked down at his slightly groggy partner. "Itachi, we-"

WHAM

"OUCH!" Kisame's hands shot up to his bleeding nose, accidentally dropping his partner in the process. "What the hell was that for?!"

Itachi sat up slowly, swaying as he did so. He may have woken up, but the sleeping medicine hadn't completely worn off yet. "You drugged me," he hissed accusingly.

Kisame stopped rubbing his nose. "Yes."

"Why?"

Kisame sighed. "Itachi, I wasn't going to just let you die. And you seemed like you had accepted that kind of demise…." He shook his head. "But I can't let you go. I'm just too selfish. I'd heard about some healers up north who can do things that are far beyond what anyone else is capable of, but I wasn't sure if you'd be willing to go if…." He let the sentence go unfinished. "So, I drugged you so you couldn't protest until we were far away from the base. Alright?"

Itachi rose to his feet, still swaying. "That's a fair explanation. I guess." He glared at Kisame with unseeing eyes. "But if you try that again, I'll show you that my eyes aren't my only weapon."

The shark grinned. He'd been forgiven. "Got it, Itachi." The Uchiha stood there, staring at his partner with blind eyes. "Itachi, what's wrong?"

The raven haired man walked up to his partner, hands traveling up his body to Kisame's face. Closing his onyx eyes, he brought their lips together in a kiss. Kisame's arms wrapped around his slender body, eyes closing in pure bliss. A moment later, Itachi broke their kiss. "You know, kissing you makes this blindness thing easier."

"Huh? How so?"

Itachi smiled. "Because I don't need to have my eyes open to kiss you." He kissed his partner again.

_Oh_.

This time, Kisame broke the kiss. "Not that I want to stop, Itachi, but we need to get going. I'm pretty sure someone's going to come after us, so we need to hurry." Itachi nodded and moved behind his partner, climbing onto the shark's back. Kisame raised a brow. "I can't see, and you're the only one that knows where we're going anyway," The Uchiha explained. Kisame nodded, and a moment later they were off, searching for a healer who might be able to fix the Sharingan eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~a few weeks later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Kisame, I don't like this."

Kisame looked around again at the words, nervously scanning the area for attackers. If the Uchiha felt like something was wrong, 99.9% of the time something was wrong. "What is it, Itachi?"

"Nothing really. Call it an overwhelming sense of foreboding, but I think there's a reason that this person can do things others can't." They had finally been able to get a hold of one of these famed healers, and were waiting in the woods outside a run-down village under a great oak tree. Just as they'd been told to.

Kisame's hand automatically shifted to his sword at the words.

"That won't do you much good against me, you know."

Both ninja started and turned in the direction of the voice. A small child stepped forward, body illuminated by the full moon. She was wearing a blood red kimono and black boots, her jet black hair and eyes only adding to the chilling aura she gave off. A tiny smile crossed her face; not the smile of a child who's just accomplished something, but of a killer who's about to inflict the final blow on their victim. "Now, do you wish to tell me why you've called me here?" her eyes glowed sparkling blue. "Or can I just claw my way through your mind until I find the answer?"

"We just need you to fix his eyes," Kisame quickly said, grateful that his voice had somehow managed to remain steady.

Her eyes returned to their normal color, and she frowned. "Is that all?" She walked over to Itachi, motioning for him to bend over. "Lean down so I can see." As she examined him, a small grin played on her lips. "Oh, so that's what's done it…." She turned to Kisame. "I can fix this."

The shark smiled in relief. "What do we owe you?"

The murderous grinned returned. "I charge a very special price. I want five of your fate years. EACH."

Kisame raised a brow. "Fate years?"

She smiled wider. "Fate is an odd thing, my friend." She began walking around, twirling her fingers in the air. "Let's say that you have another fifty years in your life. Fifty long, happy years. Giving up five of those is no big deal, right?" She stopped moving, her face turning serious. "But let's say you'll never use those fifty years, because in seven years, fate says you'll be killed in a fight. Suddenly, five years seems like a lot, no?" The twisted grin was back.

Kisame gulped. This kid was creepy. "But, if that happens…..what happens after the two years you have left are up?"

"You simply drop dead."

Yikes.

Itachi spoke up. "And if you have less than five fate years?"

"You still drop dead, only it happens instantly." she began spinning around happily. "This all comes down to a question of luck. Has fate been kind or cruel to you? Do you think you have a long time left? Or no time to spare?"

Kisame's gaze hardened. "If we don't get Itachi's eyes fixed, we definitely won't have any time left. There's no other choice."

The healer smiled. "Excellent. Alrighty then, if your minds are made up, we won't delay this any longer!" She raised her hands upwards towards the moon, a soft prayer issuing from her lips. Her body glowed the same sparkling blue as her eyes had moments before, and she approached Itachi. The Uchiha silently bent down, allowing her to press her fingertips to his eyes. A moment later she pulled away, and Itachi blinked.

She smiled. "And now for my end of our bargain." Two small blue threads slid out from her sleeves, attaching themselves to Kisame's and Itachi's chest. Kisame froze; it felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, and he was getting sleepy. His mind began racing. _What if he didn't have five years left? What if, after all this, he was just going to die here?_ But then, the thread broke off and Kisame rapidly sucked in air.

The girl's head was thrown back, eyes closed as the moonlight washed over her. "Another ten years…"she whispered softly. Her eyes opened and she gave the two men a childlike grin. "Well that's that. If you two ever need help again, come find me!" She giggled and disappeared.

Once they were sure she was gone, they let out twin sighs of relief. "Damn, what the hell was with that kid?!" Kisame asked in an exasperated tone.

"I'm not sure. But I don't think she was human." Itachi turned, eyes narrowing. "But we can worry about that later. We've got company." Kisame groaned and grabbed his sword. _Dammit, couldn't they ever get a break?!_

They heard the rustling of leaves from a nearby bush. Itachi motioned and Kisame ran forward, raising his sword. The sound of metal on metal rang out.

"Dammit, would it kill you to see who the hell's attacking first?!" Hidan's scythe was pressed against Kisame's Samehada, holding it inches from his face. Kakuzu stepped forward. "We were sent to retrieve you. Come on." Itachi and Kisame both followed the Akatsuki members towards the base.

"….you could have let anyone know where we were! Do you have an idea….."

Kisame sighed and slouched in his chair, although Itachi was able to remain calm and at attention. They were in the middle of a huge lecture from Pein. But Kisame wasn't thinking about the trouble; he was wondering if Itachi's execution was still on.

"Well?"

Pein must have finished and was waiting for an explanation. Kisame hoped that Itachi had been paying attention, because he sure hadn't. He breathed a small sigh of relief when Itachi cleared his throat. He was safe.

"Pein, you're no doubt aware that my eyes have been failing for a while. It got to the point where I was completely blind, and I had to be disposed of." Here Itachi paused, seeking the right words. "Well, Kisame found out about it, and he didn't want to lose me. We've been partners for a while, so his reaction was normal. He DID go a little overboard in getting me out of here (he cast a slight glare at Kisame) but we were able to find a healer that was able to fix my eyes, and ran into no enemies along the way. No one followed us back here, so no harm done."

Pein stared at them. "Alright, that's a reasonable explanation. File a report and get some sleep; you two are off the hook this time." The two nodded and left.

As soon as they got back to their room, Kisame dropped his sword and flopped down on the bed. He hadn't felt this good since before Itachi's eyes had started giving out. He sighed contently. Everything was as it should be. He looked around for his partner, and was a bit surprised to find him staring at the shark. "Itachi?" The man in question motioned for him to sit up.

Once he'd moved, Itachi slid onto his lap, smiling. "I can see you again." He picked up the shark's hand, intertwining their fingers. "I almost forgot what a lovely shade of blue your skin is." He looked up and kissed his partner.

Kisame's arms slid around Itachi's waist as he eagerly returned the kiss. When they broke away, Itachi moved to his ear. "Thank you, Kisame. I owe you my life." He moved back to their lips and kissed again. "I don't think I can ever repay you, love."

Kisame brought their lips together in a deep kiss. _"Itachi, all I want is to have you here. You said you owe me your life."_ His arms slid down to Itachi's waist. _"Just make it a long life." _


End file.
